Wymm Tea, Mahei Sheng Spring 2011

Wymm Tea Description:
This is a sheng pu-erh that brews bright yellow liquor with a delicate taste and silky texture. The tea is full-bodied with minimal astringency, and brings back a prolonged honey-like aftertaste.

Sample provided by Wymm Tea

My Review:
I received 4 samples from Wymm Tea some time back and before I could review them all I became pretty seriously ill. Having only made it through one so far, I am feeling up to the task today. Bring on the poo!

This is a big leaf ancient tree tea. It is sold in a cake. The sample is probably taken from a cake as it shows some signs of having been compressed, although at first glance it resembles a loose leaf. The sample came wrapped in handmade mulberry paper.

The leaf is gorgeous with lots of golden buds. I even see some streaks of silver. The leaf has a nice fresh scent. It is far more field than farmyard, with just a hint of leather.

The website info on infusions says to use 212 F (100 C) water and 7 grams of leaf per cup. The sample appears to be between 6-8 grams so I tossed it all into my clay pot.

I already know. if I do a rinse, I'll just drink it, so why bother pretending? My first steep time is about 20 seconds. Enough time to walk away from the pot and turn off an alarm on my annoying phone.

The wet leaf is pea green and prettier than my picture suggests. The brew pours an apricot color. I steeped longer than I intended, as it is not the yellow in the description. That makes me a little nervous as this is sheng. Sheng, especially young sheng, tends to be very astringent. What have I done? What have I done?

Actually, nothing bad. The leaf is fresh in scent, having a light leather and asparagus scent with seaweed undertones. I also catch something along the lines of mint or menthol.

The taste has a light bit of smoke. This is the first time I can recall catching a smoke note in the taste even though others record it often. There is a light amount of mineral that morphs later into a fuller bodied bite with a touch of leather. This is followed by only a slight astringency. I am not really getting the usual camphor at this point but there is something mildly cooling in the taste.

I came as close to a flash steep as possible for me on the second cup. Poured the water. Replaced the lid, Poured into the cup. Maybe 5-6 seconds? The cup is just as dark as the first.

The taste has moved some. Now I get a spicy cedar/cinnamon mixed with leather. There is a light metallic brightness behind the leather. The combination is an interesting cooling heat. The aftertaste is sweet. Maybe not honey, but sweet.

What impresses me with these cups is the total lack of throat grabbing bitterness. Instead what I am getting here is a really nice tea buzz also know as qi. Really, it hit me suddenly as I began this paragraph. I would love to indulge it more, unfortunately, with the medication I am taking, I have to watch my caffeine intake. So I have to bid this one farewell today. The leaves will still be here in the morning and ready to go more rounds. This is a good one.

You can find Wymm Tea Mahei Sheng Spring 2011 here